A new national poll reveals that 91 percent of Americans believe the federal government should help restore the Gulf Coast. Asked whether they think the Gulf Coast is vital to the nation’s economy and domestic energy security and if the U.S. should invest additional funds in restoring the area, 51 percent “strongly agreed” and 40 percent “somewhat agreed,” while 6 percent “somewhat disagreed” and 3 percent “strongly disagreed.”
The America’s WETLAND Foundation commissioned the scientific poll of 1,132 respondents conducted Aug. 10-14 by The Kitchens Group, a Florida-based national market research firm. It has a margin of error of 2.9 percent. The poll focuses on issues critical to sustaining the Gulf Coast region and the health of the Mississippi River.
“We are encouraged by these national poll numbers and feel the expanded scope of the America’s WETLAND Foundation, founded nearly 10 years ago to raise public awareness of Louisiana’s coastal land loss, may be having a real impact,” said R. King Milling of New Orleans, the foundation’s chair. “Our mission remains to focus the country’s attention on this region that continues to face unprecedented environmental and economic calamity.”
Protecting the Gulf Coast area that supplies energy to the country should be the responsibility of the federal government, according to 90 percent of respondents, with only 10 percent saying it is not a federal responsibility.
The poll also showed that 78 percent of respondents support using wetlands to capture and store carbon dioxide, similar to how forests are used to reduce carbon in the air. In contrast, according to the poll, only 22 percent feel climate change is not really a significant problem and do not support capturing carbon for this purpose, regardless of the impact on restoring the ecosystem.
Additionally, the poll shows most Americans believe the federal government should be responsible for restoring and maintaining the environmental health of the Mississippi River, which each year dumps nutrients into the river that flow into the Gulf of Mexico, creating a dead zone that threatens marine life. In 2010, the dead zone covered 8,400 square miles, an area the size of New Jersey.
Poll respondents were divided over national perceptions of the Mississippi River. When asked if they believe most Americans understand that the Mississippi River system, from headwaters to the river’s mouth, is vulnerable, half said “yes” and half said “no.”
A clear majority – 73 percent – said it is reasonable to expect that drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and protecting the Gulf Coast environment can happen at the same time, with 30 percent saying it is “definitely possible” and 43% saying “probably possible.”
Pollster Jim Kitchens was surprised by some findings. “There are a couple of things that really jump out at me,” Kitchens said. “Seven out of 10 believe you can drill and protect the environment, that you can have both. They don’t see it as an ‘either-or’ choice. Another surprise is that 90 percent of the respondents see restoring and protecting the Gulf Coast to be a responsibility of the Federal government. That is astonishing in this era of worrying about the Federal deficit.”
Read the full results of the survey here.
MAY 23 Here's a story in the Picayune about some statistics that must come as a blow to folks who believe that any private school can do a better job of educating kids than any public school: Danielle Dreilinger reports that only 30 percent of the voucher kids are passing. That's less than half of the state wide average, she says. It's an interesting statistic because most of the schools (if not all) taking voucher kids have never had their students' standardized test scores released to the public before.
MAY 23 Stephen Sabludowsky blogs on Bayou Buzz about auditor requests here. Recently the state GOP started crowing about a request from the Legislative Auditor, claiming they were being targeted because of their anti-tax stance. (Uh, your what?) Denial and hyperbole aside, the state Democratic party blew holes in that theory with an email announcing they'd received the same request, Sabludowsky writes here.
MAY 23 Jim Brown blogs about the senate race in this post. He says that, given Bobby Jindal's "lack of traction" on the national stage, it might make more sense for the governor to consider running against Mary Landrieu for the senate seat. Since Tim Teeple left the Cassidy team, it makes sense he might land on a Jindal for Senate team, Brown opines.
MAY 23 In this Louisiana Voice post, blogger Tom Aswell writes of rumors that his nemesis, state Superintendent of Education John White, may be soon departing Louisiana for a federal post. It's hard to believe, given his performance, Aswell says, but stranger things have happened. An anti-White BESE member says that, if true, White is quitting before he can be fired.
MAY 23 In this post on American Zombie, blogger Jason Berry writes about the Mother's Day shooting. Mayor Landrieu said that "this is not who we are," but the fact is, this is New Orleans, Berry writes. The violence infused in the city is the result of a culture created by "sins of omission or sins of commission," Berry writes. It's not a problem that can be solved by legislating, policing, praying or publicizing, he says: Someone's got to understand what's happening first.
MAY 23 This post in the Westside Journal tells us what Port Allen Mayor Deedy has been up to lately: vetoing ordinances, apparently. This story is most interesting, however, when it delves into a petition that has been circulating around the city lately. It accuses the former mayor of a lot of nasty things; the former mayor says it is full of lies and "broken syntax" which may be a larger offense in his eyes.
MAY 23 This editorial posted in The Advocate is a bit confusing. The writing is poor - definitely not up to the usual editorial writing standard there - and the point is hard to grasp. Apparently, the writer is saying that privatization of state efforts is OK, as long as there is oversight and transparency, but Jindal's not good at that, and the legislature shouldn't over-react. Okey Dokey. Can't they get one of them Pulitzer-winning people to write an editorial?
MAY 23 This post on The Lens gives you links to a new Google Earth tool that allows you to see any spot on earth transform over the past 30 years. Bob Marshall, who covers the coast for the paper, says that in the case of Louisiana's coastline, it's possibly something you don't want to see, because it's not a pretty picture. There are several clips here, showing critical areas erode away. For Marshall, it was vindication for all those times he was met with eye-rolling when he talked about erosion.
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